May 24, (THEWILL) – Rodrygo’s late heroics secured a crucial 2-1 victory for Real Madrid against Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, with Vinicius Junior watching from the stands.
The Brazilian, who was racially abused by Valencia supporters in their previous match, was unable to feature due to injury after his red card from the contentious game was rescinded. Madrid seemed on course for a comfortable win when Karim Benzema broke the deadlock, but Raul de Tomas’ stunning strike brought Rayo level. It was Rodrygo’s thunderous strike in the 89th minute that ultimately sealed the win for Los Blancos, propelling them temporarily into second place in La Liga.
In the early stages of the match, Rayo posed a greater threat, with Alvaro Garcia’s header and efforts from Unai Lopez and Santi Comesana, testing Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois.
Nevertheless, Madrid took the lead just after the half-hour mark through a cleverly taken drop-ball by Toni Kroos, catching Rayo off guard. Federico Valverde and Benzema combined brilliantly to set up the latter, who calmly rounded goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski before slotting the ball home.
Madrid had opportunities to extend their lead, with Rodrygo squandering a golden chance and Dimitrievski denying Benzema with a remarkable save. Despite their dominance, Madrid failed to make it count, and substitute De Tomas punished them with an outstanding equaliser six minutes from time.
The final say was still Rodrygo’s as he unleashed a powerful strike that found the back of the net, securing the three points for Madrid and celebrating with a raised right fist, symbolising the “black power” salute. Real Madrid will next face Sevilla on Saturday, while Rayo Vallecano will host Villarreal in their next La Liga fixture.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
